Chapter 85 Insect Crisis
"I want to buy a black meteorite, do you have any?"
"Meteorite?"
He Yusen was somewhat confused. If buying a harvester last time was just a rich person being capricious, then this meteorite could only be attributed to an abnormal mental state.
"No..." Seeing He Yusen hesitate, Yu Miaomiao simply said, "If you don't have it, then forget it."
After saying that, he tried to leave.
"There's nothing I can't get; if you have the price, I can get it for you!"
He Yusen hurriedly said that all the losses he had made from the earthquake over the past two weeks were probably wiped out in this wave. In He Yusen's eyes, Yu Miaomiao was now a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered, so how could he let her go easily?
"That depends on whether what you find meets my requirements. We'll discuss the price once you find it."
Meteorites are rare, but more importantly, they are useless to ordinary people in the apocalypse and are not essential for survival, so there is no seller's market for them.
Yu Miaomiao wanted to upgrade her space, but she would never be a sucker.
This test suggests that He Yusen's vessel was not a meteorite.
Before He Yusen could say anything more, the two had already left.
On the way back to the villa, clusters of dark shadows gathered under the streetlights; upon closer inspection, they turned out to be swarms of black flying insects.
In the summer before the apocalypse, swarms of flying lice would appear under the streetlights, drifting and clustering around the light source like snowflakes.
These flying insects in the underground city are even larger than before the apocalypse. They gather in large swarms, forming patches of dark shadows that are nauseating and give you goosebumps.
It started as a small cluster, but now it has grown into a vast expanse, something Yu Miaomiao had never seen before at the provincial capital base.
This insect is attracted to light and feeds on vegetables and plants. Most importantly, its dander can cause itching, redness, swelling, and eventually ulceration when it comes into contact with human skin.
However, at this time, no one had yet realized this.
Yu Miaomiao was no exception. In her previous life, the provincial capital base was on the ground, and she had never seen such a large-scale gathering of black flying insects. Therefore, she naturally did not know what kind of huge harm these flying insects would cause.
She was born with a parasitic constitution. In the past, whenever she went out with friends in the summer, no one had to worry about being bitten by mosquitoes, because Yu Miaomiao would become the primary target of many mosquitoes, just as her blood was sweeter than everyone else's.
At this moment, she stared at the flying insects, carefully passing by without disturbing them. Every inch of her exposed skin was like a frightened bird. She simply stopped and pulled Lu An into the space. She found two sets of protective suits in the corner of the space and put them on from head to toe.
Although it is unclear whether these insects are harmful, something unusual must be going on.
She certainly didn't want to be sucked blood by the mutated insects.
Fortunately, Yu Miaomiao made this decision.
Because Ji Mu contracted the virus that very night.
He spent the whole day spraying insecticide in the field. Although the insecticide killed some of the insects, the effect was minimal. Many of the black flying insects that did not die began to actively attack and bite him.
He thought it was like a mosquito sucking blood and didn't pay much attention to it.
By the time symptoms appeared, the legs had already developed extensive redness, swelling, and ulceration.
It looked like it had been scorched by fire, one piece connected to another.
He gritted his teeth and kept quiet until dinner time, when Yu Miaomiao saw his bitten cheek and had no choice but to admit it.
"Ah... how come you..." Xu Nanwei also noticed a bright red wound on the boy's side face.
The flying insects continued to swarm wildly in the fields and under the streetlights. Yu Miaomiao sealed all the doors and windows, but occasionally one or two insects would still slip through. After Xu Nanwei and Lu An used electric mosquito swatters to swat them, the insects were only temporarily slowed down. Yu Miaomiao caught them and put them in glass test tubes, barely managing to get rid of the insects for the time being.
If it can't be killed by electricity, what about burning it with fire?
Yu Miaomiao caught a dazed flying insect, put it in a separate test tube, lit a match and dropped it in. The insect miraculously regained its spirit, flew towards the flames, and darted among them without any fear of the flames. The flames burned its wings, but it was unharmed.
That night, things got messy in the underground city.
Through the window, I could see that every household was in chaos, with chickens and dogs running around, and everyone was trying their best to get rid of the insects, but with little success.
Yu Miaomiao caught a few more insects, put them in test tubes, and laid out all the insect repellent products she already had in her space, testing them one by one.
Look at existing insect repellent sprays or liquid mosquito repellents to see which ones are effective against these flying insects.
Perhaps nothing works against this mutated black moth, but we have to try.
These flying insects didn't appear overnight, but they didn't show any obvious intention to attack people in the first few days. They just gathered under the lights. But now they are clearly showing signs of attack. Yu Miaomiao is worried that if the flying insects can't be dealt with, the 300,000 people in the underground city may eventually have to abandon the city and choose another doomsday base.
The three checked themselves to see if they had been bitten by insects. Fortunately, none of them were bitten. Xiao Nanwei hadn't left her room all day, while Yu Miaomiao and Lu An had immediately slipped into their space and put on protective suits after seeing mosquitoes gathering on the street.
Because the flying insects outside were so numerous, Ji Mu and his dog were allowed to stay overnight in the living room on the first floor of the villa. As for the bites and sores on his body, Yu Miaomiao could only find some anti-inflammatory ointment to apply to him. Of course, this would be deducted from his wages.
When the medicine was being applied, the kid was surprisingly tough. He gasped for breath, gritted his teeth, and didn't utter a sound, only letting out two soft groans.
While I was applying the medicine, the dungeon's loudspeaker came on.
The message essentially urged residents of the underground city to stay indoors for the time being, avoid contact with flying insects, take precautions, wear more clothes to avoid exposure, and that the underground city is already working on solutions to ensure that its residents can return to normal life as soon as possible.
The flying insects outside kept hitting the glass window, leaving disgusting black slime on the glass. Yu Miaomiao then drew the curtains inside the room, turned off all the lights, and left only a flashlight for illumination.
Surrounded by darkness, the four people huddled around a flashlight, experimenting with everything from mosquito coils to mosquito repellent liquid, then to insecticides, mosquito repellent sprays, and floral water.
Experiments continued until midnight, but no effective insect repellent product was found. Yu Miaomiao felt somewhat desperate. Was humanity destined to end at the hands of a group of insects?
After a fruitless night, everyone fell asleep at the dining table. When they woke up the next day, the radio announced that it was eight o'clock in the morning, but looking outside, it was still pitch black. Because of the presence of flying insects, the dungeon had now shut down all light sources.
The temperature in the underground city, which was only in the teens, became a perfect breeding ground for flying insects, which emerged from the soil overnight.